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Children learn a lot from their parents. Right from taking their baby steps to how they eat or interact with others. And with every milestone, the bond of trust between parents and children also gets stronger. They know for sure that with their parents around, no one and nothing can harm them. However, parents might not always be aware of some of their actions inadvertently hurting their children. Here are 9 such situations where parents might be hurting their little ones without even realizing it:
1. Tickling Their Children
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Who doesnt like to see their children laugh? And tickling is often the easiest way to make them laugh. However, according to research from the University of California, tickling does not trigger the same emotion of happiness as a joke does when someone laughs. In reality, laughing due to tickling can be a result of a reflex action (1). Even an adult reacts to tickling the same way. However, kids are often overpowered by adults (including parents) and are forced to laugh even if they dont like it.
2. Placing Toys In Babys Bed
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Parents wish to keep their baby cozy and comfortable. To do so, at times, they might crowd their babys cradle or crib with stuffed toys or fluffy pillows. However, such things can interfere with the babys breathing if their face or nose presses against them, thus proving fatal. Parents need to realize that their baby only needs a firm mattress and a thin sheet to sleep safely (2).
3. Shaking The Baby
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Nearly all parents experience a situation where their baby might stay up crying despite hours of cradling in their arms. At times, exhausted parents might violently shake the baby to put them to sleep. However, what parents might not know is that such shaking can damage the babys brain and prove fatal to them. This is known as Shaken Baby Syndrome (3). Avoid doing so and be gentle in your movements.
4. Keeping An Extremely Sterile Environment
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Agreed, cleanliness is important. But some parents take it to an extreme level by cleaning the house more frequently and keeping their babies away from all sorts of dirt. The result children who are used to such a sterile environment end up with more allergies. On the contrary, the earlier kids are exposed to allergens, the faster their immunity develops (4).
5. Walking Them On Flat Surfaces
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Now, whats wrong with that you might ask? The fact is that the bones and joints in human feet are not fixed in a permanent position. This allows the feet to adjust to surface irregularities while walking. When you make your baby walk on flat surfaces, your babys feet are deprived of normal muscle, nerve, and skeletal development (5).
6. Making Them Finish The Entire Meal On The Plate
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Remember the time when our parents asked us to finish all the vegetables or food served on our plate? Turns out, it is a bad habit. Kids cannot judge if the quantity of food on the plate meets their requirements. And forcing them to clear the plate would make them overeat thereby creating a bad food habit. You can, of course, give your child small portions of food at frequent intervals or whenever they feel hungry.
7. Spoon-Feeding Them
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According to Amy Brown, an associate professor of child public health, Swansea University, children who already know to hold the spoon shouldnt be helped with eating. They may be unable to tell when they are full and end up overeating. When children eat by themselves at their own pace, they learn to appreciate the foods taste and thus develop the right attitude toward food (6).
8. Forcing Their Children To Share
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Sharing is caring, but only if you want to. When parents make children share against their wishes, they indirectly condition them to give up on their own wishes and happiness. In the future, such children will grow up with issues like being unable to say no or take a stand for themselves (7).
9. Being Polite With Everyone
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Parents often teach their children to be polite and obedient toward everyone, including strangers. But theres a flip side to it too. In a social experiment done to study abductions, 15 out of 17 children walked away with strangers (volunteers) who intended to abduct them. All because they were polite to them and offered help or candies (8). While teaching good behavior, its also important for parents to teach their children the difference between whats safe and harmful to them.
Do you also indulge in someof the behaviors mentioned above? If yes, then its time you stop them. There are better ways to deal with your children and were sure, as parents, you wouldnt want to be the ones hurting your child.
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